“He dominated her, but she tamed him”

“She saw him as a boy, standing in the kitchen, his clothes tattered and torn, his dark hair in need of a cut and taming. In his dirty hands he held out the bed to her, his only words,“For you.”

“They had a fabulous sex life. Drake was an attentive, tender lover who took his time in pleasing her. But every once in a while something in him changed and she caught a glimpse of the truly dangerous man he really was. She hadn’t tamed him, not one bit. He just chose to show her a tender side he said he’d only discovered with her.But sometimes the tiger in him growled and clawed its way to the surface. And then the sex was incandescent.”

“Had she not created even him? Perhaps for that he never forgave her, but hated her and fought her secretly, and dominated her and oppressed her and kept her locked in houses and her feet bound and her waist tied, and forbade her wages and skills and learning, and widowed her when she was dead, and burned her sometimes to ashes, pretending that it was her faithfulness that did it.”

“He was looking at her with amused suspicion. There was something between them, and even she had to acknowledge that a tame remark about the weather sounded perverse.”

“Come on, Avery." Fresh tears stained her cheeks. Her voice shook. "Wake up,damn it!" She sobbed, rocking forward and back, her arms wrapping tightlyaround his big body. "Don't you want to shout at me for disobeying you, youoverbearing, domineering male?"She squeezed her eyes shut and bit hard on her lip. He couldn't die. He was toostubborn, too alive, too vigorous. And she couldn't lose him. She loved him toomuch."I… am a… gentleman," she heard him gasp. "I never shout at women.”